CodePink Hearts Rand Paul

United States Capitol Police stood guard Thursday afternoon outside the office of Sen. Rand Paul, ahead of a visit from a very vocal antiwar group celebrating his 13-hour filibuster on drone warfare.

CodePink, a peace and social justice activist group, tweeted early Thursday morning, “Let’s go, left and right, to @SenRandPaul office, 208 Russell, today 1pm. Thank him for #filibuster.”

Nine pink-clad members of the left-wing protest group crowded into the waiting area of the Kentucky Republican’s office Thursday, carrying bouquets of flowers, posters and a box of Ferrero Rocher, those crunchy, spherical chocolates.

CodePink member Medea Benjamin said the chocolates were chosen as a gift because of their — ahem — ball-like shape.
“He’s got them,” she said of the senator.

Just after Glenn Johnson, a member of the American Chiropractic Association, stopped in to sign the guest book and “stand in the office of the next president,” the CodePink crew began, unsuccessfully, to haggle with the office staff for a slot on Paul’s schedule.

By way of softening the bad news, a staffer told them, “He really does appreciate it. Honestly.”

“But we’re his biggest fans,” Benjamin said.

“I understand,” the staffer said with a chuckle. “I’m a big fan, too.”

Finally, the Pinksters were satisfied to hoist a poster bearing the visage of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the 16-year-old son of an al-Qaida cleric, both of whom were killed by a drone strike, and to sing a song for Paul in praise of his filibuster.

About an hour later, Paul lifted his hold on the nomination of John O. Brennan, apparently satisfied with the administration’s response that the president does not have authority to use a drone to kill an American non-combatant on U.S. soil.